CONCERT PREVIEW
Sandi Patty’s “The Everlasting Tour” with special guest Veritas
6:30 p.m. Sunday (doors open at 5:45 p.m.). $20-$35.50. Mount Bethel United Methodist Church, 4385 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta. 1-855-223-1008, attendstar.com (keyword: Sandi Patty).
It’s shaping up to be a pretty good time for contemporary Christian artist Sandi Patty.
She’s released two CDs — “Everlasting,” which has been nominated for a Dove Award, and a holiday album, “Christmas Blessings.”
She’s currently touring with several of her children. And Patty could soon add her 41st Dove Award to her apparently still-growing collection.
“The older I get, the less I am surprised by the unexpected things of life, both good and bad,” said Patty, who took a few minutes to talk with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the day before the Tennessee wedding of her daughter Jenn. “The truth is that I’m experiencing things in my ministry and professionally that I never thought I’d be able to. There’s so many things to look forward to even in this year that are so exciting. And in most people’s view, I should be entering the ‘twilight’ of my career. I’m so grateful that God continues to use me to bring hope to other people. … And, I think the best is yet to come.”
So, with so many awards — don’t forget the five Grammys — will one more really matter?
“It always does,” Patty said. “When people encourage me with an award, it means a great deal. Every year is different. Every year is unique. Every record reflects a different season in my life.”
If you want to know why she’s garnered so many awards, Patty brings her stirring vocals to Marietta for “The Everlasting Tour” at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church, 4385 Lower Roswell Road. The special guest is Veritas, a contemporary classical vocal group. Patty likens them to five Josh Grobans.
The audience, she said, can expect an evening of inspirational worship, laughter and a little bit of everything else. “I’m not always predictable in what I’m going to sing,” she said. “You never know what might happen.
“What makes Marietta special, especially for me this year, is that the kids will be singing with me,” Patty said, “and they are knocking it out of the park.”
The tour has become a family affair for Patty. A son, John Helvering, 26, performs, as do daughter Aly Peslis, 25; and daughter-in-law Katie, 24. Jenn, who tied the knot, has a good excuse not to be there — she’ll be on her honeymoon. Daughter Anna Trent runs the business and her (Trent’s) assistant is Patty’s “baby girl” Mollie Peslis.
Patty said it’s not hard straddling the dual roles.
“I’ve explained to them that, yes, I am their mom, but when we’re on stage, I’m their boss,” she said. “They’ve been around the business all of their lives, so they really get that. There’s no problem with that except they like me better as mom these days. The boss does not cook.”
Her Christmas project includes a lot of classics like “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Angels We Have Heard on High,” but also some new tunes, including a Patty-penned song, “The Little Things.” It is being sold at Cracker Barrel stores and will have a wider rollout soon.
She said Cracker Barrel seemed a logical choice to initially sell the CD because the retailer wanted to get a jump on the holiday season and they “really know their customers and they know their customers like Christmas.”
Even her mother recognizes that. Patty said she’s traveled all over the world, performing from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House in Australia. But “now that my record is in Cracker Barrel,” she said, her mother joked: It was like “finally, you’ve done something with your life.”
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